Past, as it will be tomorrow
by shanejayell
Summary: In a alternate past for Evangelion, young Ritsuko and Misato find themselves facing hard choices. Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion, I'm only borrowing them for a while. This is also a alternate time line to Evangelion, and events did not occur exactly as in canon.

Past, as it will be tomorrow.

Dr. Naoko Akagi paused in the hallway outside the office of the new commander of GEHIRN and took a nervous breath. Then the black haired woman knocked firmly, waiting until she heard a muffled voice call, "Come in."

Sitting behind her desk Yui Ikari was studying the paperwork on the latest test series with a frown, her dark brown hair falling into tired looking eyes. Since the disappearance of her husband during the Unit-01 contact experiment she had been working night and day to find out what had happened to him.

'But does she already know, and is just not telling us?' Naoko wondered grimly. Even more worrying, did Yui know about her affair with Gendo before he disappeared? If she did, it could get... messy.

Yui looked up at last, her mona lisa smile as enigmatic as ever. "How goes our attempts to reactivate Unit-01?" she asked calmly as she set the papers aside.

"It's ready, and the pilot candidates for it and Unit-00 are ready," Naoko nodded. She hesitated a moment, "But... why THOSE girls?"

"According to the Marduk Institute, the candidates have the best psychological profiles for piloting," Yui frowned, "though to be honest, I have my own doubts. But for now, they're the ones available, so..."

"I understand," Naoko said after a moment.

Yui paused a moment then asked, "Do you have any suggestions who should supervise the pilot testing?"

Naoko looked thoughtfull a moment, "How about Professor Fuyutsuki? Other than you and... well, he know the Evangelion technology best."

"Other than my husband, yes," Yui agreed with a sigh.

"Mama?" a soft voice asked, coming from the door leading into the room beside the office. The young boy looked nervous standing there, his short brown hair falling into eyes that resembled both Gendo's and Yui's.

"I'll leave you and Shinji alone," Naoko said with a wry smile, well aware at how traumatized the boy was. Whatever had happened to Gendo had occurred with Shinji and Yui there in the lab, the boy visiting with his parents. 'Poor kid,' she thought.

"Thank you," Yui smiled. As Naoko was leaving she heard her murmur, "2004 hasn't been a very good year, let's hope things improve soon."

* * *

Sometime later as a alarm rang through the complex Ritsuko Akagi growled under her breath as the black haired girl ran along the hallway. "Mother if I find out you nominated me for this, I'll..." she grumbled as the twenty year old girl tried to finish pulling the tight sky blue plugsuit top on.

"What the hell?" Misato Katsuragi blinked as a partially dressed girl ran by. "Ritsuko?" she hurried after her, the nineteen year old's longer black hair flowing.

"Oh thank you," Ritsuko muttered as Misato caught up with her. "Can you give me some cover, please?" she asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Misato asked as she kept pace, using her body to preserve the other woman's privacy a bit.

"They're running tests on Unit-01," Ritsuko explained as she finally got herself into the top, "and they need a pilot. Also, I'm late."

They jogged together to one of the elevators, both a bit out of breath. "You're crazy, right?" Misato shook her head, "A guy disappeared into that thing."

They stepped into the elevator and Ritsuko hit the switch to take them down into the Geofront itself. "That was a freak accident," Ritsuko said briskly, "it's not going to happen again." Despite her brave words Ritsuko patted her pants looking for a cigarette, apparently forgetting she was dressed in the plugsuit.

Misato found her eyes drawn by the gesture to her friend's legs, then her eyes swept up her sleekly dressed body. Ritsuko was in good shape, and had developed enough to fill out the skin tight costume in all the right places.

"Pervert," Ritsuko blushed, seeing where she was gazing.

"In that outfit," Misato replied with a chuckle, "you really can't blame me for looking."

Ritsuko blushed but had a hard time denying that point. "One of these days I'm going to talk Miss Ikari into putting you into one of these," she growled, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Though if the Marduk report I saw on mother's is right, you will be anyway,' she silently mused.

"She's my guardian, remember?" Misato smirked as the elevator dropped smoothly beneath the Earth then added wickedly, "Besides, I don't think she goes that way."

"Oooh," Ritsuko made a face as she answered with a groan, "I really did not need that mental image, Misato!"

Yet oddly, Ritsuko found herself feeling more relaxed as the elevator finally came to a stop. Misato was good at that, taking her mind off the oddness of their lives now and helping her enjoy their days away from here. 'Even if I do have to help her in school in return,' Ritsuko mused with a wry smile.

"Mind if I tag along?" Misato asked as they headed down the brightly lit hallway together. The facility housing GEHIRN's main base was almost shiny new, and they could hear their footsteps on the new floors as they hurried along.

"Am I going to be able to stop you?" Ritsuko asked.

"Probably not," Misato agreed cheekily.

Together they hurried into the observation booth, looking out through the glass at the massive being that waited eerily for life. The Evangelion was a sleeping giant in the large testing chamber, a series of massive restraints and scaffolding surrounding the purple and pink colored humanoid.

"Ritsuko," Naoko turned as the head technician said, "you're late."

'Bitch,' Misato thought uncharitably.

Yui Ikari reached out to put a calming hand on Naoko's arm as she said gently, "She's a student and helping us here, Naoko."

Naoko relaxed a little, her expression softening a bit, "Sorry." A faint smile teased her lips, "And are you joining us too, Miss Katsuragi?"

Misato calmly met her eyes, "I thought I'd watch, if you don't mind."

"Of course you can," Yui smiled at her gently. Looking over at Ritsuko she said, "We're just running entry plug tests today, we won't be plugging you into Unit-01 yet."

Under her breath Naoko muttered, "I still think we're wasting valuable time."

"We'll discuss it later," Yui murmured back. More loudly she said, "Misato, would you and Ritsuko go down to the entry plug?"

"Right," Ritsuko took Misato's hand as they walked to the door in the side of the control room, leading down to the waiting entry plug.

"What was that about?" Misato asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Yui wants to talk to mom dear alone," Ritsuko sighed, "wish I knew what about."

Yui waited till the door closed before walking over to the glass and saying, "Naoko, there's no need to rush."

"Only if you accept the one interpritation of the Dead Sea Scrolls," Naoko crossed her arms in front of her, "that says the Angels will come in 2015. The other reading implies they're coming in 2005."

"And you want your daughter to fight them?" Yui asked almost disbelievingly.

"She's twenty years old," Naoko said flatly, "not a child to be protected, Yui. I think she can do it."

"We don't even know if someone that age can operate a Evangelion," Yui shook her head, "the best projected age is a teenager. What if it hurts her?"

"Then so be it," Naoko said flatly.

Ritsuko closed her eyes, she and Misato having gone back up the stairs outside the door to listen in on their conversation. "Ritsuko..." Misato reached out to squeeze her arm gently in silent comfort. Shaking the hand off and livid with rage Ritsuko keyed the door open and stormed inside, racing towards her mother.

"Wha..." Naoko started.

"You bitch," Ritsuko slapped Naoko's face with all her might, sending her mother crashing to the floor. Tears in her eyes the young woman ran out of the room, Misato hurrying after her.

"Oh hell..." Yui sighed, torn between chasing after the girls and helping Naoko. With a resigned sigh she helped the other woman up as she said, "Well, I think we have a new problem to deal with."

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Past, as it will be tomorrow

Two

Ritsuko Akagi gasped as a gentle hand caressed her tear streaked cheek, then she was drawn into a warm embrace. "Cry," Misato Katsuragi said softly as she let Ritsuko's head rest on her shoulder, "you'll feel better."

Ritsuko's chest heaved with exertion and pain as bitter tears streaked her face, the raw emotion too great to resist. 'Mother doesn't care,' the blonde young woman thought harshly, 'I'm a tool to her, nothing more.'

Gently Misato patted her friend's back and shoulder, murmuring soft comforting words to her as they stood together in a empty office not far from the test center, the room only dimly lit by a overhead lamp. Even as Misato held her she had to concentrate on not noticing how good Ritsuko felt to hold, or how tight the plugsuit was on Ritsuko...

'Think about math tables,' Misato mused, 'or where you stashed Ritsuko's clothes after she changed. Just try not to think about it...'

"Thank you," Ritsuko finally sighed, the smaller black haired girl looking up at her greatfuly as she pulled back a little.

"After what we overheard, I can't blame you for being upset," Misato answered seriously, her own slightly longer black hair flowing over her shoulders. As usual she wore a red jacket that once belonged to her father, with a simple black dress underneath.

Ritsuko nodded, "Not just upset, I'm... furious."

Misato nodded as she heard her phone chirp. "Do you want me to...?" she asked Ritsuko. A grim smile, "It's probably Yui or your mother."

Ritsuko smiled grimly, "You'd better answer it, we can't hide very long."

Misato took out her phone and flipped it open, "Yes?"

Yui Ikari felt a burst of relief as Misato answered. 'Not that I expected them to disappear, but...' she mused. Aloud she asked, "Are you all right? Is Ritsuko with you?"

"We're fine," Misato answered shortly. She hesitated a moment then had to ask her, "Is Naoko there?"

"I'm back in my office and Naoko is off seeing a nurse," Yui sighed. "Could you two please come up here?"

Misato relayed the question to Ritsuko. "Sure," Ritsuko sighed, "as long as you don't ask me to forgive my mother."

"Right," Yui sighed, "I'll see you soon."

"Wonder why your mother needed to see a nurse?" Misato wondered as they went out into the hall and took a wary look around.

"Hopefully she lost a tooth," Ritsuko muttered as they hurried to the elevator, Misato fighting back a soft chuckle. She looked up at Misato, "Could you take me to where we stashed my clothes?"

"No problem," Misato agreed.

A few minutes later and Yui heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called, the brown haired woman looking up from her paperwork.

Both Misato abd Ritsuko entered, both ladies dressed in regular clothes. "We're here," Misato said a bit needlessly.

"Dr. Ikari," Ritsuko stepped forward bravely as she told her, "I am resigning as a possible Evangelion pilot."

Yui set the uniform down on her desk with a sigh. "Your mother didn't mean what she said, I think," Yui said tiredly, "I'm concerned you're overreacting a bit..."

Misato snorted softly in disbelief. "Yui, you really don't bullshit well," she noted bluntly, shaking her head.

"Misato," Yui gave her a mildly pained look, "you're not helping."

Misato walked a bit closer, meeting her eyes as she asked, "Yui, can you really look me in the eye and tell me Naoko didn't mean it?"

For a moment Yui looked up to meet the eyes of a girl she considered a daughter, then had to look away. "No," she conceded, "I can't."

"Your loyalty to my mother does you credit," Ritsuko sighed, "but it's not needed. I've always known mother didn't like me."

Without really thinking about it Misato went over to Ritsuko's side and slid a arm over her shoulders. "Yui," she said as she held Ritsuko gently, "what do we do know?"

Yui Ikari sat back a moment then quietly asked, "Ritsuko, I doubt you want to stay with your mother?"

"Oh no," Ritsuko agreed.

Yui smiled slightly, "Then I think we'll lend you a room for a bit." She rubbed at her eyes, "Then we'll go over our potential pilot lists..."

Ritsuko suddenly clutched Misato's hand as she said, "Not Misato!"

With that Yui chuckled humorlessly. "Trust me," she answered wryly, "I have no intention of making that mistake."

"Thanks," Misato blushed as she felt Ritsuko's fingers entwined with hers. Quietly she asked, "Mom, can you delay Naoko so we can grab Ritsuko some clothes from home?"

"It's not home to me," Ritsuko muttered.

"I'll do what I can," Yui promised, "but you should get going soon." Inder her breath she murmured, "Maybe I can distract her with the latest Magi updates..."

"Thanks," Misato called as they hurried off.

Slipping out of GEHIRN was easy, and Misato soon comandeared a unmarked van, taking the wheel with confidence. "Are you sure you can drive this?" Ritsuko wondered as she put on her seat belt.

"No problem," Misato said as she put it in reverse and thumped them hard against the wall the bumper was right up against.

"Oh?" Ritsuko hid a smile.

Misato blushed so cutely that Ritsuko had to fight back a laugh. "Oops," she admitted as she put the van into gear and got them moving.

Feeling oddly like a battered wife Ritsuko hurried into the apartment she shared with her mother. It was almost eerily clean, like a show home not a place where people lived out their lives. With a almost savage pleasure Ritsuko yanked clothes from the drawers of her dresser, enjoying seeing the normally tidy room made messy.

Carrying a old backpack full of clothes Ritsuko hurried out into the hall and announced, "I'm ready to go."

Misato nodded, "Let's get going, I don't want to see Naoko's reaction."

Squealing out of the building's parking lot both girls sounded off with relieved sighs, even more so when they saw Naoko's familiar car park not far from where they had been. Being careful not to draw attention Misato drove them over to Yui's house as she quietly explained the living conditions.

"I'm willing to take the couch," Ritsuko offered as Misato slid open the traditional sliding doors of Yui's ancestral home.

Misato laughed, "We have a spare futon." She hesitated a moment, "There's plenty of space in my room, if you'd like."

A faint blushed colored Ritsuko's cheeks as she gruffly answered, "I'd like that."

Misato's room, unlike the lived in neatness of the rest of the house, was a pigsty. "Sorry about this," Misato said as she scooped up empty food containers into a black plastic bag.

"God you're a slob," Ritsuko chuckled good naturedly as she helped tidy, "what are you going to do if you ever move out on your own?"

"Find a wife to take care of me," Misato shot back teasingly.

Ritsuko snickered, "I wish her luck."

"I'm not that bad," Misato protested, "and what do you mean, her?"

Ritsuko flushed slightly, "Hey, you said wife."

"Okay, true," Misato conceded. She smiled slightly, "And to be honest, it'd probably have to be a woman or saint to put up with me."

"You certainly aren't the saint type," Ritsuko started to joke, then sniffled suddenly. It had been a long few hours, and she was only keeping it at bay with nervous energy.

"Ritsuko," Misato stopped her picking up garbage and looked her in the eye. "It'll be all right," she said softly.

Ritsuko sighed softly, "I don't see how." She took a ragged breath, "I finally know how much I mean to my mother... no more than a computer."

"Maybe yes, maybe no," Misato said gently, "but you mean a lot more than that to me, Yui and all your friends."

Ritsuko managed a smile, "Thanks."

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Past, as it will be tomorrow

Three

"Where the hell is my daughter?" Dr. Naoko Akagi demanded, the black haired woman barging into the office of the commander of GEHRIN without waiting for permission. She glared at her superior, "Well?"

Yui Ikari looked up from her paperwork tiredly, the brown haired woman giving her a cross look. "Do you seriously believe I'm going to answer that?" she asked mildly.

Naoko met her gaze defiantly for a moment, then she finally had to look away. She slumped tiredly in the guest chair, the side of her face still marked by a livid bruise. "Is Ritsuko all right?" she asked instead.

"Do you care?" Yui asked softly.

"Of course I do!" Naoko burst out.

"Misato tells me she's fine," Yui answered as she looked at her guest curiously, "if still quite angry with you."

Naoko flushed slightly. While talking with Yui she had taken a harsh tone with her daughter's safety, but unbeknownst to her Ritsuko had been listening in. Irrationally upset she had slapped her to the ground then fled before Naoko could explain.

"We need a pilot..." Naoko started.

Yui fixed her with a look, "You aren't going to attempt to draft Ritsuko? Because if you do I will oppose that."

"No, trying to force a pilot wouldn't be wise," Naoko answered a bit stiffly, "however, I have another pilot candidate in mind." With that she pointed to one of the files already sitting on Yue's desk.

Yue flipped the folder open, studying the black haired girl. "She's kind of young," she noted, seeing her age listed as fifteen.

"Maybe, but her youth may actually make her more compatable," Naoko countered, "and she's a volunteer."

Yui frowned but nodded reluctantly. "All right," she said, "let's call in your prodigy, Miss Maya Ibuki."

Meanwhile, Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi watched as a very unusual transfer student was introduced to their university classes. The professor pushed up her glasses, "Our newest transfer is here on a accelerated program, having graduated highschool at fourteen." She gestured to the girl at her side, "This is Maya Ibuki, please make her feel welcome."

"Thank you," The black haired girl bowed, blushing furiously. Dressed in a another school's uniform she looked rather embarrassed to be standing under their gaze, her short black hair scruffy and unevenly cut.

"She's a high school graduate?" Ritsuko murmured from where she sat near Misato.

Misato blinked as she whispered back, "Guess you can't tell by looks alone."

Maya stiffly walked to a open desk, sitting not far from where they were. She got her books out and seemed to follow the work easily, despite just jumping into the class. All in all she seemed like a good addition to the class, at least so far.

One of their fellow students joined them as they left class for lunch, the gangly young man looking oddly out of synch without his usual cigarette. "So what's the prodigy like?" Kaji wondered, scratching as his stubble covered chin.

"Dunno," Misato answered honestly, "we've barely met."

"I thought you'd be more interested," Kaji gave them both a sly smile, "or haven't you heard the rumor she may be interning at GHERIN?"

Ritsuko looked up at him in surprise, "Seriously?"

"It's from a pretty reliable source," Kaji winked, not mentioning that he'd gotten that little tidbit by sleeping with a older but attractive woman working at GHERIN.

Misato still looked dubious but Ritsuko was frowning slightly as she murmured, "Maybe I should look into this."

With that Ritsuko strode off and with a smile Kaji slid closer to Misato. "How about we...?" he purred.

With a elbow to the gut Misato sent him staggering backwards as she firmly said, "Not a chance." Leaving the gasping man to his own devices Misato walked away, taking care to hang back a bit from Ritsuko.

Ritsuko hurried along, though if someone asked she couldn't have explained why she was looking for Maya. Part of it was curiosity, and maybe Ritsuko also wanted to warn her about her mother...

"Get back here, you little..." a voice growled.

"Help!" Maya yelped and Ritsuko hurried to race around a corner. The tall young man menacing Maya was smart but crude, having used his physical power to dominate any of the weaker students.

"Let her go," Ritsuko ordered with a scowl, seeing the big man clutching Maya's neck with a large hand.

"Make me," the bully scoffed.

Without thinking about it Ritsuko drew on the self defense classes her mother had made her take. Lunging forward she grabbed the thumb of the gripping hand, making him yelp in pain and release Maya. As he lunged at Ritsuko she slipped away and grabbed his arm, shifting her center of balance and using a simple throw to send him crashing into a wall.

Maya gaped at Ritsuko, "You..."

Ritsuko grabbed at her hand, "He's not going to stay down forever, let's go!

"Ri... right!" Maya followed, her eyes bright with surprise and other emotions.

"Eh?" Misato blinked as both women ran by her, then heard the bully's rage filled groan. Quickly, she decided running with Rits and Maya was a good plan. "What did you do?" she said as soon as she caught up to Ritsuko.

"Knocked a bully on his ass," Ritsuko admitted as they went into a deserted classroom to buy themselves some time.

"I guessed," Misato puffed, catching her breath. She looked at Maya, "You all right?"

"Yes," Maya answered, looking at Ritsuko with a expression that could almost be called adoring. Or maybe enraptured.

'Well, well, well,' Misato thought, hiding a smile.

"I'm glad," Ritsuko sighed, "though my poor impulse control may have just made you a lifelong enemy today."

Maya sighed quietly, "It's nothing new, Miss...?"

Ritsuko looked sheepish, "Oh, I'm Ritsuko Akagi. And the madly grinning woman over there is Misato Katsuragi."

"Madly?" Misato looked amused.

"Wipe that smile off your face, we're in serious trouble if he catches us," Ritsuko pointed out.

"Oh," Maya looked surprised, "I'm sure you could handle him again."

Ritsuko gave her a odd look. "No," she shook her head, "I got lucky catching him by surprise. Round two, we're in trouble." Just then they heard the welcome sounds of the principal, yelling, and security guys going to work with tasers.

"Should we look?" Misato asked.

"Can't hurt," Ritsuko said as they pushed the door open.

Outside, the security forces were pulling the now stunned bully away, who was still grumbling about girls beating up on him and his rights being violated somehow. All three women breathed a loud sigh of relief as he disappeared around a corner, then silently decided to return to their classroom.

"Who was that guy?" Maya asked tentatively.

"Susuhara," Misato answered her promptly, "a big lug who usually thinks better with his fists than his brains."

"Ah," Maya nodded. When they reached the classroom Maya quickly pulled the door open, "Here, Ritsuko-senpai."

"You don't have to call me that," Ritsuko blushed.

"Let her," Misato smirked, "it's harmless."

Ritsuko gave her a frown, but decided it was better not to argue. 'And I never did get the chance to talk to her about mother or GEHRIN,' she thought glumly.

"Why were you looking for me, Ritsuko-senpai?" Maya wondered as they all headed back to their desks.

"There was something I wanted to talk to you about," Ritsuko admitted.

"REALLY?" Maya's eyes shone happily.

Ritsuko gulped, "We'll talk after class." She looked over at the chortling Misato, "nd stop laughing."

"I can't help it," Misato chuckled.

To be continued...

Notes: Yes, that's Toji Susuhara's dad. Poor kid.


	4. Chapter 4

Past, as it will be tomorrow

Four

There was a soft splashing sound as Ritsuko did a last rinse of her hair, then looked into the mirror. It had taken a bit of bleach plus a lot of hair die but her natural black colored hair, a inheritance from her mother, was gone. Instead a brassy blonde looked out the mirrored surface, though admittedly a blonde with black eyebrows.

'I wonder if I have enough time to do the eyebrows too?' Ritsuko wondered, combing her still damp hair back with her fingers.

"Ritsuko, is everything all right in there?" Yui Ikari asked worriedly from the other side of the closed bathroom door. Ritsuko had headed in there a half a hour ago after breakfast, and other than splashing water they hadn't heard a thing.

Ritsuko smiled wryly as she thought, 'I suppose she was worried I'd hurt myself.' Aloud she called out, "I'm fine." Opening up the door she smiled up at the older lady as she gestured dramatically, "See?"

Yui's mouth dropped open in surprise before she could get herself back under control. Ritsuko's hair had been dyed a white-blonde you'd never find in nature, one that was almost unbearably stunning. "Uh...," Yui started, her simple blouse and dress pants looking oddly out of place on her..

"It looks a bit much, huh?" Ritsuko asked Yui with a unusually relaxed smile, considering the situation.

"Well, yes," Yui admitted, feeling a little worried about how the girl might take her honest opinion.

Surprisingly a smile burst to life on Ritsuko's face. "Good," she said firmly, "my mother is going to freak when she sees it."

'She may act like an adult a lot of the time,' Yui mused, 'but clearly she's still a teenager.' Aloud she said, "That she will. So does this mean you're coming back to GHERIN with us today?"

"Yes, I think I will," Ritsuko nodded firmly.

"Awww," Misato noted as the black haired young woman arrived with her phone, "we were going to use the camera in this to send Naoko a photo and listen to her scream." She wore casual jeans and a muscle shirt, her usual red jacket tossed on over it.

Ritsuko shrugged as she said with a wicked smile, "It'll be more satisfying to see her reaction face to face."

Misato frowned, "But you'll also be within range of her, too."

"I punched her out once," Ritsuko smiled grimly, "I can do it again."

"No punching if you can help it, please," Yui said to her quickly, "you know I can't stand the sight of blood."

"Must make it hard to be a doctor," Ritsuko replied, not quite sure if she was being serious or just joking.

"Why do you think I'm a theorist?" Yui winked.

"All right you two, break it up," Misato sighed. "Keep it up too long and we'll never get to GHERIN," she pointed out.

"And you want to go, why?" Ritsuko had to ask.

Misato grinned, "To watch the mayhem unfold, naturally."

"Oy," Yui sighed.

Thankfully, Yui was behind the wheel as they set out to GHERIN. Ritsuko had quickly discovered that while Misato could indeed drive, she tended to break all kinds of traffic laws and speed recklessly. Yui, on the other hand, was a efficient and careful driver, the only problem being her tendency to occasionally drift off in thought.

"Look out for the curb!" Misato yelped, bringing Yui back to reality to swerve them aside. She gave Ritsuko a look, "Still don't want me to drive?"

Ritsuko puffed out a relieved breath as they reached the lab complex, "No comment."

"I'm hurt," Yui sighed as they headed into the buildings, moving through the access routs from the city into the geofront beneath it.

"I still can't get used to this," Misato admitted as she looked up at the rock ceiling arching high above them.

"I'd have thought you'd be used to it by now," Ritsuko noted.

"No, not me," Misato said as they moved to Yui's office first.

Yui smoothly took her place behind the desk, calling up her schedule and checking project status reports. "Hmm," she murmured as she flipped through files, "Naoko is going to attempt a entry plug test with the new girl, Maya."

"Is that safe?" Ritsuko asked, frowning worriedly. Once upon a time she wouldn't have asked that sort of question, but that was back when she still trusted her mother to look out for her welfare.

"Yes, but not at this point," Misato said flatly, having done a fair bit of reading on the subject. "We'd want animal tests first, I'd think."

"Not possible," Yui said as she got up, grabbing her labcoat and pulling it on. She looked at the girls, "Coming?"

"Of course," Ritsuko followed, "but why are animal tests impossible?"

They headed down the hall to a elevator as Yui answered, "The systems we're testing will require human brain waves to operate... a animal subject just won't do."

The ride down to the testing labs was tense as each considered what might be waiting for them and what they might do. "Let Yui take the lead," Misato advised Ritsuko softly.

"I'll try," Ritsuko smiled slightly. "You know my mother, though...."

"We all know," Yui agreed as the chime signaled their arrival. Briskly Yui strode out of the elevator as she asked, "Naoko, I thought we were just planning synchronization tests."

"That's where we'll be starting," Naoko began before she trailed off, seeing Ritsuko following behind. "You...," she started weakly, "what have you done to your hair?!"

"Like it?" Ritsuko smiled as she patted her blonde locks.

"You look like a floozy," Naoko yelped.

"I think it looks nice," Maya Ibuki offered, the younger woman standing nearby dressed in just the form fitting plugsuit.

"Who asked you," Naoko growled at her fiercely.

"Hey!" both Yui and Ritsuko glared at Naoko, "Don't talk to her that way."

Misato fought back a chuckle as Naoko took a half step back and Maya blushed. "Isn't it rushing things a bit?" Misato asked, giving Naoko a withering look.

"It's perfectly safe," Naoko answered flatly.

"Then why not put yourself in a plugsuit and try it out yourself?" Misato challenged, fighting back a smile as Naoko blanched.

Ritsuko frowned slightly, wondering why her mother had tried so hard to talk her into doing that too. 'Did she really think it could hurt me?' she thought, once more feeling a deep disappointment in her parent.

Naoko tried to look somewhat more dignified as she said, "The optimal projected age for using the system is in their teens."

"Does that mean you couldn't do the tests?" Ritsuko pressed.

"No," Naoko conceded reluctantly.

Misato looked at Maya impishly, "We're going for lunch. Wanna come along?"

Maya had a trapped mouse look as Misato and Ritsuko led her out, "Yes?"

"See you later," Ritsuko gave them a false cheery wave as the three women tromped out of the lab.

"Do you have to help undermine me?" Naoko hissed angrily to her superior.

"I didn't have to help," Yui said to Naoko dryly, "the girls were managing perfectly fine against you on their own."

Naoko growled incoherently. "And why did you let her dye her hair?!" she added.

"Why should I stop her?" Yui shrugged, rather enjoying her colleague's discomfort. She gave her a pointed look, "And why haven't you tried the tests on yourself, first? It would at least make the young ladies more comfortable."

"I'm not used to thinking about making my test subjects feel more comfortable," Naoko said stiffly.

Yui gave her a almost sympathetic look, "Maybe you should think about it." With that she turned to go, adding, "If you wish, we can re-schedule the tests for later."

"That might be for the best," Naoko admitted as she watched Yui leave.

To be continued....


	5. Chapter 5

Past, as it will be tomorrow

Five

Maya looked up from her meal as the black haired girl nervously asked, "You were the first test subject, Ritsuko-senpai?"

Ritsuko stirred her own meal as she casually said, "Just call me Ritsuko, okay? There's no need to be formal, we're all teenagers here."

Maya blushed faintly, "All right."

'Damn that's cute,' Misato thought with some amusement, the black haired young woman casually popping open the can of beer she had begged from the cafeteria staff. "Yup," she nodded, "Naoko had Ritsuko lined up to be her crash test dummy till she quit."

"Crash dummy?" Ritsuko looked amused by that mental image.

Looking over at Ritsuko in surprise Maya asked her, "Why would you quit? I mean, it's such important work...."

Ritsuko frowned, looking down at her food thoughtfully, "It's complicated." Deciding not to burst too many of the girl's illusions she said, "I felt that my mother's priorities and my own didn't match."

"Oh," Maya blinked.

"So what do you think of the plugsuit?" Misato had to ask, peering impishly at the girl dressed in the form fitting blue garb. The blue 'cat ear' interface devices she wore on her head gave her a oddly kittenish look, going well with her youthful appearance.

Maya went red, "It's very embarassing."

Misato snickered, "You should see it with someone who's a little more full figured...."

Maya looked at her blankly, then over at Ritsuko as her eyes widened. "Oh," she breathed out.

"I think you broke her brain," Ritsuko complained good naturedly, wincing as she remembered how much jiggling she had done in her plugsuit. 'When I design them,' she vowed, 'I'm building in a good bra.'

Misato smirked, "My memories will keep me warm."

"Pervert!" Ritsuko scolded jokingly as she slapped her arm.

Maya shook her head, the younger girl smiling shyly. "Have you two known each other long?" she probed gently.

'She's sharper than she looks,' Misato silently mused, firmly reminding herself that this child was probably smarter than she was. 'Not that that's hard....' she added wryly.

"We've known each other since we were kids," Ritsuko told Maya honestly, "our mothers have worked together for nearly forever."

"Ah," Maya nodded.

Before the conversation could continue Misato frowned as she felt her phone buzz gently at her side. "Excuse me," she told the others as she answered it.

"Misato," Yui Ikari's gentle voice came through, "I think I have a compromise worked out with Naoko."

"What does the mad doctor plan now?" Misato asked dryly.

Yui bit back a soft laugh, "Please don't call her that." With a certain amount of amusement she added, "If she hears you, she'll have a stroke."

"Tempting," Misato noted, "but I'll try to restrain myself." More seriously she asked, "So what's the plan?"

"A neural test outside of the experimental entry plug," Yui said, "then a controlled link up with LCL involved. Once those both test out as safe, we try the plug itself."

"That...," MIsato quickly ran through what she understood of the technologies they were working with, "sounds reasonable. Do you mind running it by Ritsuko too?"

"Put her on," Yui sighed.

Maya watched Ritsuko listening, the blonde nodding her head every few moments. "Do you really think it's dangerous?" she had to ask Misato.

"I don't think so," Misato admitted, "but the truth is we don't know. Some of this has been tested on animals but we can't check the combination of technologies without a human involved, and there's no way to know if they'll interact with each other in unpredictable ways."

"I see," Maya nodded. She smiled faintly, "You explain things like this very well... have you ever thought about going into the sciences?"

Misato laughed, "No, not my thing." She smiled faintly, "Maybe management, considering how chaotic this place can get sometimes."

"All right," Ritsuko said as she hung up the phone and gave it to Misato, "it looks like we'll be doing a more gradual program of tests, okay?"

"All right," Maya nodded eagerly as they abandoned what was left of their lunches and trooped back to the lab.

Naoko had a decidedly pinched look on her face as they entered, her expression rather sullen. "Welcome back," she said sarcastically.

Yui calmly elbowed her in the side, making the other woman yelp in surprise. "Now then," Yui said, "this should be simple. We'll need you to sit over here...."

The testing, thankfully, was relatively simple if time consuming. They made Maya sit in a chair while they monitored the data feed from her interface equipment, then tested the flow as they caused her to react to various stimulus. Both Ritsuko and Misato joined in, Misato especially enjoying trying to startle the younger student in the tests.

"You are very evil," Ritsuko muttered as Yui wrapped things up.

Misato shrugged, "Hey, I was helping."

Naoko nodded thoughtfully, her irritation temporarily derailed by the test results. "So far you test out fine," she noted to Maya, "in fact my only complaint would be a variance in your heart rate when you deal with Ritsuko."

"Ehh!" Maya squeaked, blushing.

Yui bit back a laugh even as she saw Ritsuko blushing too. "I wouldn't be too concerned," she noted, "I think it's a teenage thing."

Naoko blinked, then shrugged slightly. "All right," she said, "we'll have to schedule the next test tomorrow. Okay?"

"No problem," Maya murmured, still blushing.

Yui nodded as she fought back a smile, "If you like, I could ask Ritsuko to assist again too."

Maya paled a bit, "No, that won't be necessary, really."

"Excuse me," Naoko said flatly. She didn't look at either Ritsuko and Misato as she walked off, back straight and her head held high.

Maya clearly didn't get the personal interactions, "Uhm...."

"I think we better get going," MIsato said apologetically. "Can you have someone guide Maya out?"

"No problem," Yui agreed, "I'll see you two at dinner."

"Right," Ritsuko nodded as she left.

"You'll see both of them at dinner?" Maya asked timidly as she and Yui unhooked the extra sensors.

"Yes," Yui noted calmly as she helped, "both of them live in Misato's room now."

Maya's eyes went round,. "EH?!!"

To be continued!


	6. Chapter 6

Past, as it will be Tomorrow

Six

Naoko Akagi stood in the caverns deep beneath GEHIRN, looking up at the most top secret element of their project. The artificial human Evangelion stood bound in it's test cage, the single cyclops eye staring out blindly through the stylized face mask. This was the product of her and Yui Ikari's genius, the combination of biological science and high technology. The prototype unit-00, and in another part of the facility unit-01, the most powerful war machines on Earth.

"It's rather frightening, isn't it?" the woman's voice said a bit breathlessly.

Naoko turned to look at their guest from the German branch of GEHIRN, the redhead looking up with a prideful intensity at the ice blue colored being. Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was a striking figure, with high, well shaped breasts and curvy hips, the near perfect model of womanhood. Of course, if the rumors were right that perfection was marred....

"I don't consider it frightening," Naoko answered honestly. "I'm certain we can control the power contained within this being," she said simply.

"I'm not so sure," Kyoko shook her head. The two women walked along the catwalk suspended over the LCL as she noted, "How is the pilot testing going?"

"Slower than I'd like," Naoko pressed her lips together irritably.

"I'd heard," Kyoko said, diplomatically not elaborating any further.

The two women entered the elevator, rising swiftly into the rest of the facility. Naoko sighed softly, "As much as I hate to admit it, going slow might have been a better idea. Over the last week of testing with Ibuki, we've had some very strange reactions between her and the simulated Evangelion."

Kyoko raised her eyebrows, "Interesting. Could I look at the test data?"

"Certainly," Naoko agreed. Kyoko was in the development team for what would hopefully become a mass production Evangelion, once the Tokyo branch worked out the bugs in the original system. She would have access to their data eventually, anyway, so letting her look now seemed harmless enough.

The halls of GEHIRN were busy with lab techs and management staff, men and women rushing to deal with various jobs. They cleared the way for Naoko and her companion respectfully, but Naoko could feel judgmental eyes on her, the rumors about her and her daughter Ritsuko poisoning the air.

'I wonder if Yui has been spreading the word?' she thought to herself bitterly. 'Or it might be my own lab assistants, the two wretches were disloyal enough.' She knew the thoughts weren't charitable, but the weeks of silent commentary were getting on her nerves.

The lab was quiet as they entered, Naoko flipping on the lights as she led the other woman into her well ordered domain. "Use the main terminal," she nodded towards the computer set up, "I'll call up the data for you."

"Thank you," Kyoko nodded politely as she sat down, her eyes flickering over the screen rapidly as the data came up. She leaned forward slightly as she read, murmuring, "Fascinating."

"Isn't it?" Naoko agreed as she pointed out details on the brain scan. "Look at the jumps here," she said, "they happened as we were running a manual control test. And here during a puzzle, too."

"It's some kind of feedback," Kyoko agreed thoughtfully as she traced the spike on the chart with her finger, "the system is responding to her, somehow."

"Which shouldn't be happening," Naoko made a face.

Kyoko sat back with a frown, picking up a pen and tapping it on the table. "There is some precident involving our technology and human interaction," she pointed out. "Consider Gendo's disappearance, as well as your own imprinting experiments on the magi."

Naoko shook her head, "The Magi are a totally different thing." She had a troubled expression, "But Gendo... do you seriously think that he was absorbed by Evangelion somehow?"

"No one's found a body," Kyoko shrugged. She gave a evil smile, "Though I suppose Yui could have chopped him up somehow...."

Both women found themselves imagining Yui Ikari as a axe murderer and shuddered at how easily it came to mind.

"Eeek," Naoko grimaced, "I don't think I want to think about that."

Kyoko nodded, "Seconded."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Yui Ikari's brown hair fell around her face as she made her way down the dusty hall, a frown on her pretty face. Digging through files kept on her husband's laptop she had found this annex of GEHIRN, a section that had been kept off the official maps and artfully concealed during the early stages of the facility's construction.

'Gendo, what have you been up to?' Yui wondered as she walked down the dark hall not far from the core of GEHIRN, Terminal Dogma.

There was a unmarked door at the end of the hallway, no lock or keyboard nearby the blank sheet of steel. Only a simple palm reader waited, sitting on a podium beside the door. The top glowed faintly in the dim light as Yui put her hand on it, a soft beep signifying it had done it's job as the door hissed open.

The chamber within was dimly lit, then with a click a recording started up. "Yui," the familiar man's voice started, "if you are hearing this, I am probably dead or incapacitated."

"Gendo," Yui breathed out as she walked inside.

"We've devoted our efforts to making GEHIRN and the defense of the Earth successful," Gendo continued, "but I believe you may have missed a major step. For our efforts to succeed there must be a bridge between humanity and the Angels... so I built one."

A light went on, illuminating a tube filled with LCL, and within it floated a young girl. Possibly less than ten years old the child had a odd air of the alien about her, with white hair floating around her sweetly innocent face. A face, Yui noted in horror, that resembled her own.

"Gendo, what have you done?!" Yui muttered as she booted up a nearby terminal, shutting out Gendo's droning about the future and mankind's destiny to join in instrumentality and become a giant puddle of tang. Instead she studied the data, scanning through pages as she tried to understand what Gendo had created.

A soft tapping sound got Yui's attention and she looked up, realizing that the sound came from the tube. The child looked out of the LCL filled container curiously, studying Yui with kind, red irised eyes. She smiled shyly then drifted backwards, seeming to fall asleep again in the LCL.

Yui looked back at the computer screen a moment, filled with conflicting emotions. Part of her was filled with horror, wanting to grab a piece of metal and begin smashing the place to pieces with all her strength. But within her there was also a kind of wonder at the birth of this strange new life and curiosity about what it might become. Silently Yui wrestled with her emotions, then reached out to press a key on the LCL filled tube.

There was a gurgling sound as the LCL shifted, then it began to be pumped out gradually as the top of the tube began to slide down. Soon it was gone as the child blinked in the open air, breathing in as if it was the first time she had.

Yui knelt down beside the child as she smiled at her gently. "My nane is Yui," she introduced herself, "what's yours?"

The little girl blinked at her in confusion, and Yui wondered if Gendo had even engineered her to be able to talk. Finally the child quietly answered, "I do not know."

Yui felt a pang at the child's confusion, reaching out to gently brush her still damp hair away from her face. "That's all right," she said comfortingly, "we'll find a name for you."

"All right," the child agreed, docilly following Yui as she took her hand and lead her from the dimly lit room.

"I always wanted a daughter," Yui noted as she took off her labcoat and wrapped it around the girl, "I even had a name picked out."

"Yes?" the child looked curious.

"How would you like to be called Rei?" Yui asked as they left the concealed hall and headed down a slightly more well used route to the elevators.

Rei looked thoughtful, "I think I would like that."

To be continued....


	7. Chapter 7

Past, as it will be Tomorrow

Seven

Ritsuko Akagi knew she was dreaming, even as she lay on the massive feather bed. She had never been on a bed this large except for that time she and Mother had gone through a bed showroom and Ritsuko had jumped on one. The room around was also unfamiliar, hidden slightly be gauzy drapes that hung from the ceiling. With a odd sort of detachment she realized she was only dressed in a nightie, a much lighter one than what she would usually wear.

A figure emerged from the shrouds, flowing onto the bed but despite being so close Ritsuko couldn't identify him. A knowing hand cupped her breast then slid teasingly away before pinching a suddenly aching nipple. The touches and caresses stirred her body hbigher and higher as Ritsuko twisted languidly on the bed. The figure moved closer and the face finally revealed itself, a black haired woman gazing at her with amused eyes.

'Misato?!' Ritsuko thought as she felt a hand gently shaking her awake.

Blinking sleepily Ritsuko awoke on the futon laid out beside Misato's, both women in Misato's room. She was completely disoriented, her skin hot and her body tingling with powerful sensations.

"You okay?" Misato asked as she sat up, stretching tiredly. She wore just a t-shirt and shorts, her breasts bouncing with her movements. "You were moaning in your sleep, I thought you were having a nightmare," she noted.

"It... wasn't a nightmare, exactly," Ritsuko answered, aware that she had actually dampened her panties a bit. Her nipples were hard against her bra, and she prayed Misato wouldn't notice as she added, "It was a odd dream, though,."

Misato was clearly too tired to press, getting up as she tiredly scratched her side, in the process revealing the round curve of her breast. "Well, we had to get up anyway," she shrugged, stumbling out the room to head to the bathroom.

Ritsuko gulped, silently struggling to get her raging impulses under control. Firmly telling herself it was just a dream she changed out of her night clothes into fresh bra and panties, a pair of slacks and a nice blouse. Tucking herself in she headed for the kitchen, looking for some coffee to start the day.

Entering the kitchen she blinked as she saw Yui Ikari eating breakfast, as usual. What was not so usual was the blue haired young girl sitting at the table, possibly somewhere around Shinji's age, also eating some cereal with Yui. She wore what looked like one of Yui's shirts, sitting surprisingly still as she munched on granola.

Yui up as she entered and smiled. "Ritsuko, I'd like you to meet Rei. Rei, this is Ritsuko Akagi," she introduced them.

"Hello, Rei," Ritsuko smiled at the little girl, bending a bit so they were nearer eye level. She was slightly surprised at the red color of Rei's eyes, so striking in her otherwise pale face.

Rei looked into her eyes calmly, "Hello, Ritsukoakagi."

Yui hid a smile as she explained, "Akagi is her family name, while Ritsuko is her own."

"I see," the little girl nodded gravely. Rei looked at Ritsuko, "Hello, Miss Ritsuko."

"Nice to meet you," Ritsuko nodded as she went to get a cup of coffee.

Misato emerged from the bathroom in her usual street clothes, doing a similar double take as she took in the young girl eating cereal. After similar introductions Yui lead the girl into the livingroom and put on a popular child's cartoon, before returning to the kitchen with the young ladies.

"So who's the kid?" Misato asked bluntly.

Ritsuko wouldn't have put it quite that bluntly, but she wondered the same. "Did you and Mr. Ikari have another child we didn't know about?" she asked, "Rei could be your twin."

"It's more complicated and odder than that," Yui sighed. She then narrated a tale of exploring a sealed off section of GEHIRN, finding a lab hidden there and discovering the mysterious child within. "I took a blood sample while she was sleeping, the Magi are running it now. We should know more in a few hours."

"Wow," Misato blinked. "Gendo must have been off his nut."

Yui winced, "I wouldn't put it that way...."

Ritsuko's mind was racing, considering the implications from several directions. Ethically this was horrible, a violation of Yui's right to control her own DNA. Scientifically, however, this could represent a breakthrough of unbelievable proportions.

A thought occurred to Ritsuko, "How is it she can talk? I would assume right out of the tank she'd be a blank slate...."

Yui shrugged slightly. "I need to study that lab in more detail, but looking at the systems it appeared to have some kind of sleep training function. It taught her basic language skills, some cultural background and so on."

Misato nodded slightly, "Excuse me for a minute."

They watched Misato go in and sit beside Rei, talking to her. Deciding her friend wasn't getting into too much trouble Ritsuko looked back at Yui, "So what do we do with her?"

Yui bit her lip thoughtfully, "My first temptation is to send her off to my cousin and stay with Shinji. But I have no idea what Gendo has programmed into her, and I'm sure her unusual coloration would draw comments."

"Take her to GEHIRN?" Ritsuko offered. She shrugged as Yui looked at her, "Tell people she's your niece or something. Maybe we can even figure out what Gendo made her for."

Yui didn't like the idea of letting Naoko anywhere near the child, but otherwise she had to admit Ritsuko had a point. Clearly the child was intended to serve some role in GEHIRN and the only way they would learn what was having her there.

"Okay, I give up," Misato laughed as she and Rei walked into the kitchen. She looked at the two women, "I decided to try quizzing Rei on trivia, see what she knows, and she got every answer right." She looked a little sheepish, "I promised her a treat, in return."

Ritsuko looked down at the curious little girl and suggested, "Well, how about trying a bit of chocolate ice cream?"

"What's that?" Rei asked innocently.

"You'll see," Ritsuko laughed warmly.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Rei still had a bit of chocolate on the corner of her mouth as Yui lead the little girl through GEHIRN, the child looking about with a odd mix of wonderment and familiarity. They had run into Naoko already, Yui introducing Rei as her niece visiting from the countryside.

"Hello, old lady," Rei had said calmly.

"Urk," Ritsuko had to choke back a laugh at the look on her mother's face.

"That's not a nice thing to call her," Misato managed to tell Rei, also fighting to keep from laughing aloud.

"That's what they called a lady that age on TV," Rei noted innocently.

"I'm terribly sorry," Yui told Naoko, desperately trying to keep a straight face too.

Naoko clearly realized the insincerity as she glared around her. "I'll be in my lab working with Miss Ibuki on the connection tests," she wheeled around to walk away, "you're welcome to assist when you're done playing with the children."

"Did I do something wrong?" Rei asked innocently once she left.

Misato knelt down beside her, "Not really. It's just that women that age don't like being reminded they're old ladies."

Rei nodded gravely, "I see."

"You're enjoying this too much," Ritsuko tried to be serious with Misato, but she couldn't fight down her smile.

"Look in a mirror," Misato shot back cheerfully. She chuckled, "God, I wish I had my camera-phone ready! I'd have loved to get a shot of the look on her face."

Even Yui had to chuckle at that thought. "Misato, you are a very evil young woman," she told the girl mock severely.

Misato poked her gently, "Look who raised me."

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu was studying bio-mechanical data in one of the labs they passed, the statuesque redhead looking unusually dangerous. Privately Ritsuko thought the woman reminded her of some dominatrix from the past century, running around terrorizing lesser beings. Or maybe a lioness deciding whom she was going to chase down and eat next.

"Well," Kyoko noted as she got up, walking over to where they stood, "I see why you couldn't greet me yesterday." The woman in the tightly fitted suit looked down at Rei thoughtfully, "Who is this little darling?"

"Rei," the little girl look up calmly from Yui's side, not challenging the other woman but not giving up space either.

"I did try to meet with you yesterday as planned," Yui noted mildly, "but something unexpected turned up."

Kyoko tapped a finger against her leg, "Family, I presume?"

"My niece," Yui lied smoothly. But before any more questions could be asked, both Yui and Kyoko's cellphones rang, emitting a shrill emergency signal. Yui flipped her phone open and frowned, "Naoko's lab?"

Without thinking about it the group bolted, Misato sweeping Rei up as they ran along the hallway to the stairs then rushing down a floor to the right level. Ritsuko took the lead a bit as she slammed open the lab door, seeing Naoko studying terminals and readouts.

Sweeping the room with her eyes Ritsuko didn't see Maya, a sinking feeling chilling her heart. "What's happened?" she demanded of her mother.

"I...," Naoko looked like she wanted to evade, but the other women ran in and asked much the same question, more forcefully. "I was running a LCL immersion test, and attempted establishing initial connections to the Evangelion-simulation," she said flatly.

"And?" Yui asked grimly.

"The capsule is no longer responding to my commands," Naoko admitted, "and I can't get Ibuki out of her fugue state."

"Oh hell," Kyoko muttered as she and Yui hurried over to the other consoles, trying to determine what had gone wrong.

Misato looked at Ritsuko, "What's going on in non-geek terms?"

Ritsuko studied the readouts intently as she muttered, "Maya's been hooked into the computers mentally. Something's caused her to go too deep, and they can't get her out."

"Oh crap," Misato muttered. She walked over to the window of the lab out at the two test chambers, sitting side by side....

Ritsuko saw Misato's eyes widen and demanded, "What?"

"There's two test chambers," Misato turned to the scientists, "is there any way we can cross connect the two of them, load someone into the second one and have them lead Maya back?"

Yui looked thoughtful, while both Naoko and Kyoko looked intrigued by the idea. "Risky," Yui frowned, "the person sent in might be pulled down with Maya."

"We could program a virtual tether," Kyoko offered, looking at Naoko who nodded slightly.

"All right," Ritsuko said decisively, "get it rigged while I suit up."

"Why you?" Naoko looked at her daughter in surprise.

"I'm the only one with complete biometric and neural recordings, mother," Ritsuko said as she hurried to the locker rooms, "I'm the only person you got."

Ritsuko was yanking locker doors open, thankfully finding her plug-suit in one as Misato came in. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Misato asked as Ritsuko swiftly undressed.

Ritsuko fought down a blush as she felt Misato's eyes on her, trossing aside her bra and panties as she pulled the suit on. "I'm literally the only option we have if this plan is going to work," she hopped into one leg, then the other as she shimmied the tight material up over her hips, "and there's no way I'm leaving a kid like Maya trapped in there."

"No, I couldn't do that either," Misato admitted. She scowled, "But if you get hurt I'm never going to forgive myself."

Ritsuko did up the neck clasps and waist connections on her sky-blue suit as she said, "Trust me, they would have hit on the idea eventually." Fully suited up she walked over to Misato, "If I don't make it back, there's something I want to do."

"Don't talk like that," Misato said as Ritsuko stepped close to her, "and what...?"

"This," Ritsuko pressed herself against Misato and kissed her, slipping her tounge into the other woman's mouth at the same time. Misato was stunned for a second but soon returned the kiss, the two melting together for a few short minutes.

Misato finally broke away with a gasp. "Whew," she panted softly, "let's do that again!"

"Not now," Ritsuko laughed softly, "save it for when we get back."

"Spoil sport," Misato said, blushing as they headed inyo the test chamber where all three scientists were working.

Kyoko swept her red-orange hair back confidently as she said, "This is a bit jury-rigged, but I'm certain it will hold up. We'll be monitoring you from the test chamber."

Yui walked up to Ritsuko as Naoko was readying the test chamber, "If it gets too much, come back. We'll find another way."

"I understand," Ritsuko smiled at her as she walked over to the test chamber. It looked like a giant pill, standing up, the front opened to reveal electronics and the LCL vents.

Naoko looked up at Ritsuko, then away. "Please be careful," she said quietly, then suddenly hugged Ritsuko, "I couldn't bear to lose you."

Ritsuko patted her on the shoulder awkwardly, "I'll do my best."

Misato helped Ritsuko up into the tube as they made the final connections, Ritsuko settling into the seat. Finally it was time, the hatch closing as Misato murmured, "Good luck."

To be continued....


	8. Chapter 8

Past, as it will be Tomorrow

Eight

Naoko Akagi watched her daughter on the monitor screen, feeling a surge of fear for her daughter as she hooked up to the plug. She was not the most motherly of people, she would easily admit that, but she did care for this vexing child of hers.

"Connections ready," Yui Ikari said with her usual infuriating competence.

"Naoko, check this virtual tether," Kyoko Soryu asked, the redhead stepping back as Naoko walked over to check her programming.

"Looks good," Naoko conceded after a moment. She really didn't want Ritsuko to do this, interfacing with the computers and Maya's entry plug like this. There was no telling what could happen.

"Ritsuko, how's it in there?" Yui asked over the radio.

"The LCL tastes like blood," Ritsuko answered flatly, "and I want to sneeze. Can we please get on with this?"

Misato hid a smile at the commentary and Naoko wanted to hit the black haired girl. "We're starting connections now," Naoko said as she worked the controls. Involuntarily she thought of young Maya and looked at the other screen, seeing the child slumped in the seat.

"First series of connections, go," Yui announced, monitoring from her station, "neural effects steady so far."

"How do you feel?" Misato asked intently.

"Strange," Ritsuko answered honestly, "it's like... a itch at the back of my brain, somehow."

"How deep was Maya?" Yui asked, comparing the readings to the other girl's test.

"Stage three," Kyoko noted.

"Let's move to the next step," Naoko hid any fear as she looked at her daughter, "ready?"

Ritsuko held the simulated controls as she said flatly, "Hit me."

"Stage two connections," Kyoko activated the system from her station.

"Ugh," Ritsuko made a soft noise as her mind interfaced slightly deeper with the computer. At this point in the simulation she was connected to the evangelion's nervous system, receiving feedback from the body itself.

Misato leaned forward worriedly, "You okay?"

"It's odd," Ritsuko answered flatly, "the... body I'm connected to doesn't feel human to me. It's a really, really strange feeling."

"Maybe we need buffer programs," Yui mused to herself thoughtfully.

Naoko ignored that, though she made a mental note to look into it later. "The next step is to bring up stage three, then connect you to Maya's simulation. Are you okay with that? We can still abort at this stage," she offered.

"We keep going," Ritsuko answered bravely.

The surge of pride Naoko felt surprised her, especially when she looked into Ritsuko's eyes and saw the fear there. "Stage three connections, on," she reported.

"How is it?" Kyoko asked intently as Ritsuko stiffened.

"Confusing," Ritsuko answered honestly, "the virtual brain isn't active, but I can feel it... pulling at me, somehow."

Naoko and Yui exchanged a glance as Naoko wondered, 'Is that what happened to Maya? Did it pull her in, somehow?'

"Do you want us to connect you to Maya's simulation?" Yui asked, making sure she was ready.

"Do it," Ritsuko answered, gripping the controls even harder.

"Switching over now," Kyoko said, pressing several keys even as Naoko watched her daughter warily.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Maya Ibuki fought down the urge to panic as she floated in the mist, but it was hard. The last thing she remembered was being hooked up in the simulation plug for the Evangelion, running through the artificial connections. Naoko had calmly read off each stage as the experiment progressed, but as it ran on Maya had felt more and more... disconnected, somehow.

'What am I doing here?' she wondered. Maya sighed, 'I'm just a poor replacement for Ritsuko, that's all. Just a substitute.'

Maya thought of her school life and got even more depressed, if that was possible. She never fit in, always standing on the outside looking in. The jocks picked on her, the beauties ignored her and only her fellow outcasts tolerated her. She was just some kind of misfit.

As she floated in the void Maya thought it would be just easier to float deeper and deeper into this void. Let go, it seemed to tell her, give up. There's nothing worth striving for, and you will be safe here. There are no expectations here, no tasks waiting for you...

'That doesn't sound like me,' Maya thought drowsily, but she felt so tired...

"Maya!" the voice called, jerking her awake.

Maya looked around in confusion, wondering where the voice was coming from. 'It's probably just some kind of computer glitch,' she decided, sighing.

Then a roar, "Maya, damn it! Pay attention!"

Maya jerked up, blinked as she felt another presence in the mist. "Senpai?" she yelped.

Ritsuko seemed to... swim out of the mist, reaching for her with a ghostly hand. "Maya, are you all right?" she asked, the plug suit hugging her body.

Maya's eyes widened as she took in the much more shapely woman. "Urgl?" she managed, her brain temporarily stunned.

Ritsuko seemed to realize what was happening as she blushed. "Leer at me later," she ordered, "are you all right?"

Maya blushed furiously. "Yes, I think so," she answered. "Uhm, where ARE we?" she asked, feeling incredibly comforted to be holding her hand.

"I think we're in a virtual space residing in the evangelion's brain," Ritsuko offered as she closed her eyes and felt for the virtual tether, "it's seeking programming and pulled us in, I suppose."

Maya was looking at her in awe, "You figured that out?"

"No, I'm guessing," Ritsuko answered honestly, "I'll leave it to my mother and the Dominatrix from Germany to figure out."

"I HEARD THAT," Kyoko Soryu growled.

"Oops," Ritsuko sighed even as Maya fought back a giggle.

"Maya, are you all right?" Naoko asked, actually sounding concerned.

"Yes ma'am," Maya answered sheepishly, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Ritsuko smiled at her warmly, their hands clasped as they floated together in the void. Now that Ritsuko was here Maya could feel the 'voice' of the void, the wish to give up and let this place consume her, but she shut it out firmly. She wanted to go home, she wanted to wake up, and she wanted to be by Ritsuko's side.

"All right, let's get out of here," Ritsuko said firmly, her body.. glowing softly as she triggered their guide home. "Hold on tight," she ordered.

"Always," Maya murmured.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Misato Katsuragi watched as Ritsuko and Maya found each other in the virtual space, sighing in relief. She thought Maya was a nice kid, but to her Ritsuko's safety was the most important thing. Besides, there was that kiss to consider...

Misato blushed, touching her lips as Naoko and Kyoko 'reeled' the girls in. She had been rather shocked by the kiss, but she also had to admit she enjoyed it. She knew that she and Ritsuko were very close, and to be honest she was pretty sure her feelings went beyond friendship.

Both chambers opened, spilling out LCL as Ritsuko shook her head, looking lovely even as she choked up the LCL onto the floor. Misato thumped her on the back, then helped Maya as she threw up.

"I'll never get used to this," Maya grimaced, spitting.

"It's not fun," Ritsuko agreed, having helped in the testing stage of the LCL.

"Let's get you both to a shower, knowing the mad doctors they'll want to debrief you after this," Misato said, smiling wryly.

"Gah. Shoot me now," Ritsuko sighed as they plodded off.

Misato went back to the control room, watching as Yui and Kyoko studied view screens, while Naoko hesitated, seeming distracted. "Miss Akagi?" Misato asked quietly.

Naoko looked at her, frowning as she said, "Yes?"

"You want to see if she's okay?" Misato offered, "I can distract the docs if you like."

Naoko looked a bit startled then smiled weakly, "It's that obvious?"

"Nah," Misato smiled. "Go on," she pushed her gently, "they'll be showering in a minute."

Yui waited until Naoko was out of earshot then murmured to Misato, "Nicely done."

"Thank you," Misato smiled wryly.

Somewhat more seriously Yui asked, "Do you think there's much chance Naoko can fix things with Ritsuko?"

"Maybe," Misato admitted, "if she can make Ritsuko understand she really cares about her, despite what she said. If she can, then they have a place to start."

"Good," Yui nodded.

Misato looked at the testing chambers, her expression thoughtful. "I was watching you all work, and was wishing I could help more," she admitted.

Yui looked at Misato thoughtfully a moment, "You want a job?"

Misato just grinned, "I have some ideas..."

Next... the final chapter!


	9. Chapter 9: Final

Past, as it will be Tomorrow

Final

Things, gradually, settled down at the labs in Tokyo-3. Development continued on the Evangelion as Yui, Kyoko and Naoko worked together, both there and in Berlin. Yui and Kyoko, through their contacts at SEELE got more access to the Dead Sea Scrolls, and finally determined the exact date the Angels would come.

With a firm deadline Yui and the others forged a plan, even as the younger generation made their own decisions.

Despite her issues with her mother, Ritsuko Akagi decided to go into the sciences, rather than being a pilot. With her innate intelligence she soared through classes in high school then university. Unlike her mother she pursued pure computer sciences, not wanting to linger in her mother's shadow. One year after completing her second Masters degree she designed the Magi 2.0, which soon replaced NERV's computer systems, while she joined the staff as head of computer operations.

Misato Katsuragi took a different path, which sprung from her own analysis of the situation. While she willingly acknowledged the importance of science in their struggle, she also saw there would be a combat component. Obviously the Evangelion would have to be piloted to fight, after all. Joining the ROTC program she completed a PHD in history, focusing her thesis on military strategy in the post impact wars, then enlisted formally in the military.

Maya Ibuki had more time in high school to finish than her comrades, but as soon as she graduated she got busy. Instead of focusing on a single discipline she digested what she learned of the primary jobs in NERV, and attempted to give herself a basic knowledge in all of them. The ultimate generalist she was determined to be able to assist in any function at NERV.

Meanwhile Yui transitioned the research group into a semi-military organization called NERV. She, Naoko and Kyoko in Berlin developed the Unit-02 and Unit-03, designating the first Evangelion both Unit-01 and their test type. In addition to the basic armor and technology the three brainstormed on other advances for the Evangelions, even as their lives continued on.

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu chose to have her daughter, whom she had conceived several years ago via artificial insemination, sent to NERV to keep Rei Ikari and Shinji Ikari company, while she worked on developing an advanced Unit-03. Young Asuka was not there when the contact experiment damaged Kyoko's mind, and after her mother's suicide the child was adopted by Yui Ikari.

Naoko Akagi was shaken by her friend's death (they had become close, oddly enough) almost as much by the near destruction of her relationship with her daughter. While remaining head of Project E she spent more effort on building the relationship with her daughter than on work. While Yui missed the obsessively dedicated Naoko she was glad for her and Ritsuko, and helped carry the load along with her duties as commander.

When Misato returned as a Lieutenant in the JSSDF in 2014 she was quickly appointed as liaison to NERV by 'Supreme Commander Yui Ikari' a title which she found something of a riot. Almost as soon as she arrived she realized that the Evangelion would need pilots, and that Shinji, Asuka and Rei would be the right ages when the Angels attacked in 2016.

THAT lead to the first real fight between Yui and Misato.

No one, including Misato, wanted to see children piloting Evangelion, but there was literally no choice. An adult brain could not safely take the stresses of connecting to the Evangelion, suffering physical damage as a result. Every attempt to pilot with an adult led to death and failure, and the Evangelion were literally the only thing standing between humanity and destruction.

Yui wanted no part in having 'her kids' pilot Evangelion, but she also knew if it wasn't her children, it would be someone else's. So when she finally agreed, with great reluctance, she insisted on Misato devising and overseeing a training program for the three kids. If she was going to send these kids out to fight, she wanted them as prepared as humanly possible.

Misato, of course, agreed with that completely.

Shinji, Rei and Asuka ceased splitting time between Tokyo-3 and Yui's cousin's country home, moving to the city full time. All were entered into the local high school for socialization, then in the evenings and weekends were put into a training program designed by 'Aunt Misato.' Within a week they hated Misato's guts, and after the physical conditioning they wanted to die. But all three rallied, supporting each other as Misato planned, and she felt a deep sense of satisfaction as they muttered nasty things about her under her breath.

Part of Misato's serenity came from her own living situation, of course. It's very hard to worry about teenagers being annoyed with you when you were living with two other loving women. Yui as 'team mom' had seen the growing depth of Maya, Ritsuko and Misato's feelings and had given them her blessing, while suggesting they be discrete. In the aftermath of Second Impact family units had changed a great deal, but there were people who might disapprove.

Surprisingly, Naoko Akagi wasn't one of them. As she strove to bridge the distance between her and her daughter Ritsuko, she inevitably grew to know Misato and Maya too. Whatever else you could say about the two women she realized that they loved Ritsuko deeply and unconditionally. More she discovered she liked both women, and the first time one of them called her 'mom' she had been filled with happiness.

But as the staff of NERV seized what joy they could, they were all aware of the days counting down. And eventually, the countdown would reach zero and it would be time to see if what they built would indeed do the job.

May 16, 2016

"I am ORDERING you to pull your forces back," Yui said flatly as the commander of NERV faced the generals down, "now. Or I swear I will leak the footage of you allowing troops to be slaughtered by the Angel to parliament and watch your careers go down in flames."

The highest ranking JSSDF general paled as he met Yui's eyes. "You wouldn't dare," he choked out softly.

On the screen behind them the Angel lumbered across the hills leading towards Tokyo-3. Humanoid it had thin arms and legs along with a bulky middle, and a strange almost bird-like face. The strange mechanism in it's arm activated and it blasted down a JSSDF copter with all hands.

"Try me," Yui answered him calmly.

He met her eyes, then looked away. Quickly conferring with the other officers at the section of deck that had been lowered for them in NERV's command center, a decision was soon reached. Squaring his cap he said, "We are surrendering command to NERV." Then he bitterly snarled, "This isn't over, Ikari."

"It had better be over," the voice purred as Misato Katsuragi, Captain in the JSSDF, gave him a very dangerous smile, her hand on the pistol holstered on her side.

The general gave her a deeply frightened look then him, his comrades and staffs raced out of the command center. In the silence there were a chorus of relieved sighs from the staff, and even a few satisfied grins. The officers had NOT gone out of their way to be liked, after all.

"She could have been a bit more subtle," Naoko noted, standing beside her boss on the raised platform above the consoles.

"Misato and subtle don't really mix," Yui noted with some amusement. She sighed, pushing up the glasses she now needed for declining vision, "We'd better win, or they'll be all over us."

"We'll win," Naoko said confidently.

Down below Misato was taking command, shrugging off a army coat and slugging her comfortable red jacket on. "All right, Makoto, Aoba, Maya, bring up the automated defenses. No more casualties, hammer at it with robots!"

"Yes ma'am," Maya nodded, the senior of the three 'bridge bunnies.' Working with the coordination of long practice they brought up the missile installations, remote controlled tanks and battle robots, each one operating a section.

The lumbering robots were the product of a project called Jet Alone, which NERV had quite cheerfully absorbed about a year ago. Their inability to produce a AT Field meant they couldn't really stop or hurt a angel, but the humanoid robots could slow one down. Especially since they were computer controlled and totally unmanned.

"Ritsuko," Misato called down to the lower level were the Magi were based. The three machines hummed away while the still blond scientist studied the data flow and relayed information to the bridge bunnies.

Ritsuko smiled as she pushed her hair back, a gold ring glinting, "Yes Misato?"

Her own gold ring shining as she thumped a console Misato said, "Get Athena, Apollo and Artemis on projecting the Angel's route. I want best insertion points for the Evangelions."

"Got it," Ritsuko agreed.

Maya made a Jet Alone ram the Angel, her matching ring glinting as she detonated the N2 reactor, staggering even the Angel. "It'll reach city limits in ten minutes," she reported.

"Put me through to the launch cages," Yui ordered quietly as Misato managed the ongoing battle to lead the Angel where she wanted it to go.

Three faces appeared on the screen in front of Yui, one her son, the others two young women she had come to love as daughters. Shinji Ikari looked young and serious, his brown hair floating around his face. Asuka Soryu looked confident, her orange hair tied back in a ponytail. And finally Rei Ikari was monitoring the two Evangelion outside, her light blue hair hiding her eyes as she intently worked.

"It's nearly time," Yui said to all three of them, "are you sure you're ready? Ritsuko thinks a N2 mine might do enough damage to slow the Angel..."

"Mom!" Shinji protested, the young man actually rolling his eyes. Patiently he said, "We're ready, mom. Really. We're more than ready."

"Misato's plan isn't fool proof," Asuka jumped in, "no plan is. But I'm confident we can win, even if the plan fails."

"They're right, Mother," Rei said in her formal way, "and if Unit 01 and 02 fail, I'll be ready to deploy in Unit 03. We will win."

Yui sighed, looking at her smiling children. Their innocent confidence and sureness that adults knew best scared her at times, but she couldn't let them know that. So instead she mustered a smile and said, "Then give him hell."

"Will do," Shinji said wolfishly while Asuka smiled.

"Angel approaching city limits," Maya calmly reported as the automated weapons did their work, "Tokyo-3 in full battle mode. Residents are reporting in from shelters, combat buildings are all in position. We're good to go."

"Angel in position?" Misato asked, even though she was fairly certain it was.

"On projected course, one minute to go position," Ritsuko called.

"Readying evangelions for launch," Makoto said as they watched the Angel move forward just as they had hoped.

"Launch!" Yui ordered, and they watched as the twin war machines raced to the surface on electromagnetic rails, emerging to bracket the Angel.

The Angel's beak like head tilted to the side quizzically, almost as if it expected something else, not twin evangelions. It was even more startled as Asuka extended her red evangelion's AT Field and grappled with with the Angel's, neutralizing it. The final surprise came when Shinji brought up his blue evangelion's scaled up rifle and opened fire, tearing through it and piercing the core.

As the angel exploded in a burst of fire and glory Misato grinned, wishing she had a cigar handy. "I love it when a plan comes together," she said.

"Shinji, Asuka, good work," Yui told her kids with a smile, "prepare for retrieval." Sitting back with a relieved sigh she cut the connection then had to ask, "Damage to the city?"

Naoko was checking the exterior views from a terminal by Yui's. "Really very minimal," she said with some satisfaction, "drag away the remains and clear some wrecked armor, and we can raise the city again."

Yui stood up, addressing the whole command center as she said, "Good work, everyone. We've saved the world, at least for today."

"Beers are on me!" Misato called, everyone laughing even as Maya and Ritsuko scolded her.

Even as a impromptu victory celebration Yui sat back, suddenly exhausted. This was just the first attack, she knew, and the Angels would get stronger as time went on. She was surprised by a gentle hand squeezing her shoulder, and looked up at Naoko.

"Worry about tomorrow's fights tomorrow," Naoko told her quietly as she added, "today, we have a victory to celebrate."

Yui smiled back, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She got up as replacement staff were coming on to replace the command crew, "You're pretty smart, for a old lady."

Naoko snorted, remembering how Rei had called her that years ago and it nearly became her nickname at NERV. "Don't you start," she growled, the two old friends walking off together.

End

Notes: Since I started with Naoko and Yui I wanted to end with a scene featuring them too. Not that I'm not tempted to continue exploring this divergence, but I'm worried I'd end up copying Greg Landsmann's Nobody Dies.

Why a threesome? I'd established earlier that Maya was developing feelings for Ritsuko, and that Ritsuko and Misato were interested in each other. After Second Impact I'm willing to bet marriage customs changed if only to make up for the loss of life, so why not?

Why Asuka Soryu rather than Asuka Ikari? Asuka loved her mother, despite Kyoko being a bit of a ass, and Yui had no intention to try to replace her for Asuka. Yui gave her a loving home and only legally adopted her to keep SEELE from butting in.

Why name the Magi 2.0 after gods? It could be Ritsuko chose the names to symbolize how much more powerful they are compared to the first Magi, or it could be she's just a fan of classical mythology.


End file.
